


The Dark Side

by Mercy_Rhyne



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: But if I got the end I originally wanted, Not totally happy with the end, So ehh a compromise happened I guess, Song fic, This fic would go on for ages, Virgil needs more love, but nothing really happens, implications of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 13:50:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15864888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: Virgil has lived with the dark sides for as long as he can remember. Only when he sees Patton, he realises how much he wants to get out.





	The Dark Side

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Implications of abuse, anxiety
> 
> (I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I really like it, on the other hand I think I could improve on things, but I was too lazy pff. I think I could have improved on a few story details, but I'm not sure how)
> 
> Song: The Dark Side - Muse

_I have lived in darkness_

_For all my life I've been pursued_

_You'd be afraid if you could feel my pain_

_And if you could see the things I am able to see_

 

Virgil bit his lip as he sat in the corner of his room. He usually sat here, in the safety of his room, away from the other side. He didn’t like being around the other, for the sole reason that they terrified him, and made him extremely uncomfortable. He always was anxious – he was _Anxiety_ , after all – but the presence of the others made it even worse. Whether it was them trying to be pricks, or them just sitting there with this… this _vibe_ of theirs, Virgil hated it. It made his heart pound and his breathing speed up. He couldn’t always remain in his room; he had to eat, and he had to go out sometimes, but he tried to limit this as much as he possibly could. And if he really had to go out, he did his best to avoid the others. He knew that if he met them, they would find a way to make him into a laughingstock. They always did. Even the sight of them made his anxiety skyrocket now, and they always found a way to abuse this. Why they loved doing it so much, Virgil didn’t know, but he really wished they didn’t. he really, really didn’t like it. And even that was an understatement. He just wanted to get away from the other sides around him, but he didn’t know how. He seemed to belong here, and there wasn’t far to go. No matter where he went, he would still be in the mindscape. Still in the same space as them, even if he was on the other side of the mind. No matter how far he went, he still had to deal with them. After all; they were all in control of Thomas, and on top of that: Virgil had no one else but the four other sides. There were the sides on the other side of the mind, but they didn’t quite get along… yet another understatement. In other words: Virgil had no choice but to deal with these sides.

 

_Break me out, break me out_

_Let me see_

_Break me out, break me out_

_S_ _et me free_

 

He wasn’t quite sure how it happened. Virgil walked into the common rooms, hoping to grab some snacks to last him a few days before the other sides would wake up. It was early in the morning, so they would still be asleep. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed some crackers, granola bars and other small snacks. The others hopefully wouldn’t notice he had taken some of these things, which made them perfect to steal.

He had hidden the snacks in his pockets, and he kept just a few things in his hand. Free of worry, he stepped into the living room, hoping to get to his room quickly so he could eat something quickly. But when he entered, Virgil saw someone sitting on the couch and he froze, dropping the few snacks in his hands. He cursed as he quickly picked them up, hoping the other side didn’t see what he carried – he’d had hoped to go unnoticed at all, but that was a futile hope, as he heard something moving.

“Are you alright there, kiddo?” a voice asked. Virgil frowned as he got up; that wasn’t a voice he recognized. It wasn’t one of the others. Their voice was too soft, too warm. It couldn’t possibly be one of the sides he knew. He carefully looked up, studying the side in front of him. He wore a blue polo with a cardigan tied around his shoulders, and glasses. Definitely not someone he’d seen before. The guy even looked… worried? Why?

“Y- Yeah,” Virgil mumbled as he got up. He noticed his hands trembled slightly and he quickly hid them in the pockets of his hoodie, hoping the other side didn’t notice. “I don’t- you’re not… what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I have something to ask Deceit,” the other responded with a shrug, which only made Virgil frown more.

“You’re early, then?”

“I was scared I would forget,” the side with the glasses responded. “So I thought I’d see if he’s awake yet. Is he?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Ah.” A brief silence followed and Virgil ducked his head, and he was afraid to make his way to his room, when the other side stopped him. “Who are you, actually? I haven’t seen you around a lot.”

“I- eh- Anxiety,” Virgil murmured, looking at the other side. He hadn’t really… expected the other to be interested in him? It could be a trick, but he seemed genuine enough, and that was odd, to say the least.

“Just Anxiety? You don’t have a name?” The anxious side shrugged in response. He didn’t want to lie and say he had none, but he wasn’t going to reveal his name to this side he barely knew. He didn’t even know if he could trust this dude. “Well, I’m Morality! Call me Patton.”

Virgil nodded. The other side – Patton, apparently – beamed at him. He seemed nice, genuinely nice. Not the nice façade Deceit often put up to lower Virgil’s guard, but actually kind. But maybe he was just really good at pretending.

Virgil bit his lip nervously, very aware of his heart pounding against his ribs. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could. If any of the other sides saw him here, talking with… _Patton_ , well, he wasn’t quite sure what they would do. Could be anything. Of course, they could let it go. But they didn’t have to. One never knew.

The two of them stood in silence for a while, and it was clear that Patton was trying to think of something to keep the conversation going. But before he could, Virgil heard one of the doors opening and his eyes widened in panic.

“I- I should… go,” he stammered, nodding at Patton. He didn’t say anything else as he rushed to his room, before any of the other sides could come up to him.

 

_I hail from the dark side_

_For all my life I've been besieged_

_You'd be scared living with my despair_

_And if you could feel the things I am able to feel_

Ever since his meeting with Patton, Virgil kept thinking about the other side of the mind. It was something he had never really thought of. It was always an abstract concept. Something he knew only the name of. And he always assumed it would be bad. He had never seen one of the sides from to other side of the mind, but he had heard exchanges between those side and the sides from here. They rarely went well. Sometimes, it was a normal discussion, but sometimes it ended in yelling, and insults being thrown around. Because of that, Virgil assumed all the sides would hate them. But Patton… he was so sweet. Maybe things weren’t so bad after all? He hadn’t heard him or Deceit yelling at each other, and everything seemed to be okay, even after their exchange. Maybe the sides weren’t as bad as he thought they were. Maybe he judged too quickly. Maybe he should try to get to the other side of the mind to see for himself what the other sides were like. Maybe that would be better. Surely, Patton would at least help him? If this wasn’t an elaborate trick.

But how could he get to the other side of the mind? How could he get out of here? The sides from the other side knew how to come here… he had to ask them how to do it. Maybe they could help him somehow. He was absolutely desperate to get out of here, and he had never realized just how desperate he was.

 

_Break me out, break me out_

_Let me see_

_Break me out, break me out_

_Set me free_

And even though Virgil kept an eye out for the other sides, it was a while before Virgil saw the opportunity to be alone with one of the sides.

It was late in the evening; the other four sides had retreated to their rooms and one of the sides from the other side had just finished his talk with one of the sides. Virgil saw him leaving the room through a small slit in his door, and he rushed towards the fancily dressed side before he could leave, despite every fiber in his being trying to stop him.

He stopped in front of the trait – he noticed how the other’s outfit resembled a prince’s and he had to admit… it looked great on him. With a deep breath he looked at the other side, who returned his look with confusion.

“I ne- I want to ask something,” he muttered softly, hoping the others couldn’t hear him. “But not… not here, can you…?”

“Common rooms?” the other side asked, seeing what Virgil was getting at. The anxious trait nodded and the two silently walked towards the living room. Virgil was terrified of one of the other sides seeing him here with this guy and finding out what he was trying to do. But if they did… they wouldn’t do anything around the other trait, right? He hoped they wouldn’t. the princely side could help him out. He hoped.

“What did you want to ask, Dark Knight?” the side asked as soon as they were in the living room. He still kept his voice low, and Virgil was grateful for that. He toyed with the sleeves of his oversized hoodie, not looking at the taller side as he spoke.

“I- I wanted… you think you can… get me… out of here?” The last words were barely more than a whisper, and he anxiously looked up at the side, waiting for him to laugh or yell at him.

 

But he didn’t.

 

Instead, he looked at Virgil with concern in his eyes.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes,” Virgil confessed softly, biting his lip. He was so terrified of what the other side would do. Would he leave Virgil here? Would he tell the other sides about this? Would he yell at him? Involuntarily, the small side tensed up, waiting for the other to respond to him.

“Well, of course I can,” he said, with a charming smile. Virgil relaxed slightly, looking up at the prince-like side with confusion written on his face.

“Really?”

“But of course!” he nodded, reaching his hand out. “Let us not waste any more time then, alright?”

Virgil looked at the hand in front of him. He tentatively reached out to grab it, but hesitated. He didn’t know this guy. Maybe he had ill intent, or maybe he was tricking Virgil. But with one look at the prince, he was convinced. There was trace of emotion on his face that no one could fake. He had seen faked emotions, and this was not one. This guy was trustworthy.

And with that conclusion, Virgil took his hand.

 

_Break me out, break me out_

_Let me see_

_Break me out, break me out_

_Set me free_

_Save me from the dark side_

_Break me out, break me out_

_Set me free_

When Virgil opened his eyes, they were somewhere else. This had to be the other side of the mind, he reasoned. It was so like the common rooms he knew, yet it was so different. It looked nearly the same, but the atmosphere was so much different, so much better.

Before any of the two could speak up, a vaguely familiar voice spoke from behind them.

“Roman, there you a- Anxiety?” Virgil turned around, instinctively flinching at the sudden noise, even if he knew there was nothing to fear now.

“Hey,” he mumbled, looking at Patton with what he hoped would make a proper smile. He wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I-” Virgil paused, looking up at the side next to him. Roman, he assumed.

“He wanted me to get him out of that place,” the royal prince helped out. “So, I did.”

Virgil nodded, burying his hands in the deep pockets of his hoodie again. He noticed Patton’s smile and managed a vague smile of his own.

“So, you’ll be staying with us then?”

“Well… I mean- if you don’t mind, then…”

“Of course we don’t, silly!” Patton grinned. He seemed weirdly excited to have Virgil around, something he didn’t quite understand, but he could get used to it. “We just need to get a room for you.”

Morality looked up at Roman, who immediately nodded.

“I’m on it, dad,” he nodded, walking off with a quick salute.

“Do you need anything?” he asked. Virgil shook his head, biting his lip nervously. “That’s fine! I can show you around if you want? Logan must be around here somewhere, so you might run into him…”

The moral trait rambled on for a bit, and while Virgil forgot most of what was just said, he found that he didn’t really mind. It was weird to have people talking to him, seemingly genuinely excited to see him. It was weird, but… he could get used to this.


End file.
